The term ‘political correctness’ comes from Mao's Little Red Book. Nowadays, it is used as a straw man argument, which of course nobody is making, that is easy to argue against. As long as you don’t mind the irony of it being politically correct self-satire to attack political correctness, it’s a straw man that never seems to mind being used for bayonet practice.

When was the last time you saw anyone take a principled stand for ‘political correctness’ as such? You haven’t. Not least because the term has become a euphemism.

Take this piece, for instance. Here is a would-be conservative that thinks surely he has found a way to reach his column’s target word count by beating ‘political correctness’ about the face and neck, and along the way he makes sure to catch us up to the Archie Bunker-era social skills he has to use the form of address ‘Ms.’ more liberally than he actually feels comfortable with. Meanwhile, modern mass society and his own newspaper have moved past that. Fifty years will do that.

‘Political correctness,’ the way Trump and Edsall use it, the way it’s generally used, is a snarl. It’s a threat display, not a term with a straightforward meaning. What ‘P.C.’ means here may as well be “people getting offended when I say bigoted things.” Much the way ‘SJW‘ is nowadays used to mean, whether or not the speaker realizes it, “non-bigots.”

The giveaway is that the headline‘s construction “Assault on Political Correctness” might as well read “offense at anyone possibly taking offense.”

What’s the snake eating itself called? ‘Ouroboros?’

If he is saying 'what everyone wants to hear,' we really are in trouble.

I may be oversimplifying but if you are not politically correct, doesn't that make you politically wrong?